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| Ess,} HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. | DocuMEnr’
. No. 720.

| use OF T. N. T., A WAR-SALVAGED EXPLOSIVE, FOR
PEACE-TIME PURPOSES.

ARTICLE ON USE OF T. N. T., A WAR-SALVAGED EXPLOSIVE, FOR
PEACE-TIME PURPOSES, BY JOHN SWENEHART, UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN.

: Aprit 10, 1920.—Ordered to he printed,

A low-priced and effective explosive is one of the great needs in

making available for settlement the large areas of undeveloped land
in the cut-over States.
__ A conservative estimate places the lands adapted to agriculture in
‘the upper Mississippi River States alone at 35,000,000 acres. That
this land is fertile has been shown by the thousands of settlers already
on the ground. Many of these families are building farms and futures
there; their greatest need is more land cleared. In most instances
they have the necessary labor, but little money. Explosives they
must have—the more abundant and inexpensive the shorter the
road to success.

EMPIRES AWAIT DEVELOPMENT.

_ Estimates made by the United States Soil Survey and the various
colleges of agriculture show that the value of the land in these States
when reclaimed will be increased by more than $1,000.000,000. The
hastening of the day when this land will be settled and under the
plow will mark an epoch in the development of these districts.

Tn addition to the vast area yet to be reclaimed in the upper
Mississippi River Valley there are the cut-over lands of the South,
which are some of the most fertile in the country. In such States as
H Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi the development. of
} the cut-over lands represents one of the country’s largest problems.
} While figures are not available indicating the value of the reclama-
@ tion of these lands, it is obvious that the amounts are enormous.

: RECLAMATION NATIONALLY IMPORTANT.

*
_ Similarly in the Pacific Northwest, there are large areas of rich
land awaiting development. The part which explosives are to play
in this development must be important. No matter how much ma-
inery is available, and no matter what other methods may be de-
vised, vast quantities of explosives will always be needed. When
it is alized that the cost of developing each acre in the upper
Lake States and over a great portion of the southern pine Lad
less than the annual returns from prevailing crops, it will be evident
that anything which aids in a quicker development of this resource
is of national importance.

is

T. N. T. OFFERS A SOLUTION.

‘ ae ;

| T.N. T., or trinitrotoluene, one of the high-powered explosives of
bthe e war, has made good under trial in land clearing. This explosive
mcould be of great service to the settlers of cut-over regions.

2 USE OF T. N. T. FOR PEACE-TIME PURPOSES.

Through the cooperation of the Departments of War and the

Interior, rather extensive test of the efficiency of T. N.T. in land clearing
have been made in Wisconsin by representatives of the College of
Agriculture of the University of Wisconsin.
Practical trials on nearly 2,000 farms, tests made by State and
Federal agents, have all demonstrated its value and its usability.
‘As a result of these tests, a widespread demand has arisen among the
citizens of this new farming region. Thousands of requests have been
made by these settlers for supplies from the Government and State
authorities who supervised the distribution of the salvaged war
explosive. In fact, im Wisconsin alone the demand was for more than
4,000,000 pounds.

As compared with dynamites, regardless of their grade and manu-
facture, T. N. T. has been found stronger and yet fully as safe and
easy to use. Its alleged insensibility can be easily overcome by
the use of a larger detonator. It is not any more susceptible to
moisture than the best of the ordinary dynamites. It is not affected
by freezing. It has much less poisonous effects on the user when it
is used: properly cartridged.

DN... CAN MBE MADE AVAILABLE AT LOW COST.

The war supplies of T. N. T. can likely be cartridged and made
available for use at a cost of less than 10 cents a pound. The authori-
ties in Wisconsin have successfully cartridged, packed, and distributed
their 200,000-pound supply at a total cost of $16,000, or about 8
cents a pound.

This does not include ‘much of the expense of distribution which
was handled by banks, county agents, and others. Nor does it
include freight from the cartridging plant to the actual user. It
does include, of course, the original cost of rather crude equipment
and necessary plant for doing the work.

The prevailing size of dynamite cartridges 1s 1} inches in diameter
by 8 inches in length. If cartridges of T. N. T. are made this size,
they can be used with the same tools that were formerly used for
dynamite. T. N. T. is more bulky than dynamite, and therefore
this size of cartridge will weigh only about 53 to 53 ounces instead of
8 ounces, which is the weight of a standard cartridge of dynamite.

The war supplies of T. N. T. have not deteriorated when stored in
a dry place for reasonable length of time. The difficulty in provid-
ind a safe, dry, storage place on a cut-over farm should discourage
storage of this or any other explosive material for more than one
‘season. Freezing and changes in temperature do not appear to
have any effect on the action of T. N. T. in field work on stumps and
bowlders. This makes it unnecessary to thaw the material in cold
weather, which has been the source of accidents in connection with
handling nitroglycerin dynamites. The user has frequently placed
his dynamite near the fire or in an oven and serious accidents have
often resulted.

HOW T. N. T. IS USED IN LAND CLEARING.

T. N. T. is a yellow crystalline powder, made in three grades, dif-
fering technically but not in practical application. Grade IT is
the one most commonly available from the war surplus. This varies
in color from different manufactures, being often light yellow in

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USE OF T. N. T. FOR PEACE-TIME PURPOSES. 3

color and very dry. It may also be dark brown and somewhat
reasy. For practical purposes in stump work, no account need
is taken of these variations in color or appearance.

In strength T. N. T. is about one-third stronger than ordinary

dynamites when loads of less than 2 pounds are used. If the

quantity of material used in one load is above 2 pounds, the
T. N. T. seems to exert a stronger effect than ordinary dynamites,
Large loads should therefore be used with care, as the explosion is
much more violent and pieces of the stumps are thrown farther.
A No. 8 blasting cap is required for complete detonation. The use
of a No. 6 cap will result in misfires unless conditions are just right.
The No. 8 cap is the same as that used for dynamite, except that the

cap is larger. The same kinds of fuse can be used. Either common

blasting caps and fuse or electric caps and blasting machine may be
used. ‘The electric method of firing explosives is recommended.

The hole for the charge is made in the same way as would be neces-
sary with dynamite, except that the T. N. T. charge should not be
extended out any length in the hole due to its insensitiveness. En-
large the hole at the bottom so that the charge will be well ‘‘bunched.”
A common term in connection with dynamite is to ‘“‘spring the hole,”
where a large charge is used. A spoon with a long handle may also
be used to enlarge the hole at the bottom for this purpose. This is
not needed where small loads are used under smallstumps. In order
to enable a charge to be packed down in the hole, the sides of the car-
tridge may be slit with a knife. There is no danger in using a knife
in this way.

NO PLACE FOR CARELESSNESS.

T. N. T. is much less sensitive to shocks than ordinary dynamite
and therefore requires a larger cap to set it off or detonate it. While
it is safe to use, this does not mean that it is less dangerous than
other explosives. It is a high explosive and therefore dangerous,
T. N. T. burns readily and is much more sensitive when burning.
Burning T. N. T. is also very difficult to extinguish. Every precau-
tion should be taken to keep fire and sparks away from the material.

In placing the cap in the cartridge it is highly desirable to use a
proper instrument. The handle of the cap crimper is made for this
work and should be used. Be sure that the cap is placed lengthwise
of the charge, so that the ‘‘ business end”’ of the cap points toward
the mass of the charge. It is not well to try to use too short a fuse.
The cap should be crimped on the fuse properly. This can only be
done with a cap crimper. The use of the steel-pointed handle of the
cap crimper to punch holes in the T. N. T. for the cap is not dangerous.

It is often desirable to use a primer made with a No. 5 cap and a
small piece of dynamite to set off the charge of T. N. T. The dyna-
mite is exploded by the smaller cap, and this sets off the T. N. T.
This is almost necessary if a No. 8 cap is not available.

Tamp the charge firmly in the hole and then tamp the earth in the ©
hole above the charge tight to the top. Only in this way can a full
benefit of the charge be realized. Be careful that dirt is not mixed
with the explosive, as this may prevent the charge from going off.

T. N. T. HAS OTHER AGRICULTURAL USES.

Drainage work.—D itches can be made with T. N. T. but on account
of its insensitiveness, a No. 8 electric cap is necessary in each charge.

———— ] f ™ . }

y, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

4 USE OF T. N. T. FOR PEACE-TIMI | P
. _. 8 002 758 424A

Propagated firing can not be used. It is impossible to make altcnes

economically with the material without an electric blasting outfit.{3

Breaking bowlders.—T. N. T. has proven very good for bowlder
blasting either by mud capping or by drilling a hole in the rock to be
blasted. Mud capping, or ‘‘bulldozing,”’ as it is sometimes called, is
the most common method. In this work, T. N. T. is used in the
same way as high-grade dynamites are used, being careful not to get
moisture or soil mixed with the charge. About one-third to one-half
less of the material ig used than of dynamite.

Road work.—T. N. T. can also be satisfactorily used for road work.
It could be used very effectively for moving earth as well as for
loosening rockin cuts where a road bed is being prepared. In fact,
T. N. T. readily adapts itself to any use where the work is done in
open air and where a relatively insensitive explosion is possible.

PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY IN HANDLING .AND USING T. N. T.

Special care should be taken to keep empty T. N. T. cartridges,
packing material, or boxes away from livestock. As soon as the
T. N. T. is used, all this packing material should be burned in the
open air. Explosives accidents have been known to happen from
using this material in stoves.

T. N. T. which is permitted to become wet from any cause will not
give good results. If more than 10 per cent of water is present in
the material, it is not detonated by ordinary means. For this reason
the material should not be poured out of the cartridges in the bore
hole, as moisture from the soil will prevent some of the material from
detonating. It is not best to leave a load stand in a hole too long
before firing. It is, however, less effected by moisture than ordinary
dynamites. Particular care should be taken to prevent. moisture
and soil from mixing with the T. N. T. in the bore hole as this makes
the material still less sensitive and may cause misfires or incomplete
explosion.

The material need not be mixed with other substances. It is not
rated in percentage strengths as is common with dynamite. It has
no nitro-glycerin in it. In practice, when used in the field, no ill
effects on the users have been observed. Handling the material raw
in any quantity is strongly discouraged except under the proper
supervision in cartridging plants. On account of the poisonous
effects on the user when the raw material is handled, it is very
important that T. N. T. is not distributed to the public without
properly cartridging it in waterproof paper cartridges. These water-
proof paper cartridges also eliminate any effect of moisture which
would be encountered in practical land clearing operations.

Special precaution should be taken in the use of T. N. T. where
‘large loads are necessary. T. N. T. when used in large loads, say
more than 5 or 6 pounds, becomes a very high shattering explosive
and therefore much more dangerous in the hands of the compara-
tively inexperienced operator. Land-clearmg work as a rule does
not require excessive loads in Wisconsin and other Lake States.
When used, however, in large loads for any purpose, it should be
remembered that the characteristic shattering effect of the war
explosive is to be observed under these conditions and pieces of
stump, rock, or soil will be thrown farther and therefore the opera-
tion becomes more dangerous.

O

Hollinger Corp.
pH 8.5